Seanad debates

Wednesday, 2 December 2009

10:30 am

Photo of Alex WhiteAlex White (Labour)

They have no reason to be jubilant and they are not looking for jubilation. They are not looking for humiliation and defeat either, which appears to be what some commentators and politicians want. It seems the only way some think we can make progress is through confrontation, with people being beaten and shot down. I do not agree with this or see it as the way forward for the country or the public service. As somebody who absolutely supports the need for radical reform in the public service, I know that nobody in his or her right mind believes it can be achieved in two weeks of negotiations. How could all of the issues we have debated here be addressed in such a short time? It is nonsensical or daft to suggest that was possible. There was no cave-in and the trade unions have not won a famous victory. In one newspaper report a trade union group describes what happened yesterday as "the greatest betrayal in the history of the Irish trade union movement". Which is it? My party has called for negotiations with a view to reaching agreement. Yesterday's developments represent a small but welcome advance. It is only an interim measure, not a solution to the problem and I do not know if it will work.

Senators Fitzgerald and O'Toole may be right in raising questions about how the 12 days unpaid leave proposal will work. Perhaps in a couple of years we will describe them as the 12 days of Christmas 2009. We do not know how the proposal will work. The idea should be considered further and thrashed out in the next couple of weeks. Do we want confrontation or to make progress? People must decide what they want: do they want to see people beaten or do they want to see a national recovery effort involving all of the people in order to see a turn-around of our current economic position? For that limited reason, yesterday's developments are welcome. In the Labour Party we have argued that the public sector pay bill must be reduced. Serious efforts should be made to achieve this without cutting basic pay. The interim agreement seems to suggest this is possible. However, I do not know if it will ultimately be possible to reduce the public sector pay bill without cutting basic pay but I hope it will. This represents a small step forward in that regard.

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